Technique of the Week: Paper piecing

This week, I’m sharing my favourite technique, or at least the one I use the most often: Paper piecing. If my favourite magazine is anything to go by, its quite a popular one in the world of card making but I particularly enjoy it as it allows me to combine my sketching and drawing with my paper craft and gives me freedom to create my own designs and styles. It’s also a great way to use up scraps of paper!

I tend to use my own sketches at templates but I do occasionally use existing ones so its no biggie if you aren’t as skilled with  a pencil. This post however is going to go through my process from sketchbook to greetings card.

 

The first thing I do is sketch out my design. I have a small sketchbook especially for my card making where I can jot down a new idea or sketch out a design. My book is A6 which means that even if I fill the page, it will still fit onto the front of my preferred size of card blank. It also means I can actually draft out a full design. (I’d love to say it was planned that way but unfortunately it was just a happy coincidence). I do occasionally use bigger sketchbooks.

 

 

Once I’m happy with my design (and this can take a couple of attempts and quite a while depending on how carried away I get with the sketching. I have been known to completely finish and shade in with extra details before now), I get out my trusty tracing paper. As an architecture student, I used this almost as much as normal paper so I always had some lying around whether a clean sheet or an old drawing or even just scraps. I then trace over the line drawing, not necessarily in very much detail – some things can be added in free-hand later.

 

With the basic template done, it’s time to start transferring the different shapes onto coloured paper. I flip the trace over so that the design is reversed. This is for two reasons. The first, so that I can transfer the design simply by drawing over the template again; the second, so that pencil marks will be on the back of the paper and out of sight without me having to rub them out. When tracing the shapes onto paper, I make sure to leave a little extra in order to glue the layers together, occasionally using on piece for a couple of sections – here, the face and the ear were one piece, with the hair placed on top. Once all the pieces are cut out, the picture can be assembled (this bit can be a bit messy!)

 

To finish off my paper piecings, I add detail with a black pen. This depends on the style I’m going for and can range from simply outlines to more detailed shading.

While I tend to keep the more detailed ones for the frames, simpler designs are great for greetings cards. This Iron Man birthday card was made with very few different shapes. The hand was stuck on using foam pads to give the design some depth but all of the detail was done with black pen and a sharpened white pencil in order to mimic the comic book style.
In contrast to this, the Suits themed birthday card focused on mainly the silhouette of the character, with very little detail added to the hair. I was unsure how obvious this design would be to the recipient but as she is an avid Suits fan, she understood the reference immediately (phew!).

 

Would love to know what you think of my Technique of the Week posts so leave a comment below! Any suggestions for future posts more than welcome!

Chic 21st

It's about time I wrote (apologies) and started to catch up with  my cards - I'm really falling behind. 

This one was for my best friend's 21st birthday. She's always a tricky one to make as I never really know what to put on her cards. I always go down the fashion/dresses route. For her 18th I did an Art Deco themed card (which I was particularly pleased with).



So this year, I opted for a stepper card. I drew the design myself and finished the dress with patterned vellum.
The text was a papercutting, originally traced from Word and then cut out in black card. It was extremely fiddly but I love the effect it makes.

Victoria Baths II

Sunday was my second time at Victoria Baths for their craft fair. Based on last November's fair, I was hoping for a good day, although my previous fair failures made me a little nervous. Then there was also the fact that the Manchester Day Parade was happening that same day. It could have gone either way.

After having a couple of extremely late nights previous to the fair, a coffee was in order Sunday morning. The sun was shining, I guess the birds were singing but Oxford Road is a bit noisy, and I was super organised and had packed the night before to be ready for the morning. I grabbed my coffee from the Cafe Nero around the corner from me and headed off to the baths.

I was on my own at the table this time and after battling with my (freshly ironed!) table cloth, I was ready to get my cards up on display. I found some make-your-own-bunting in The Works when I was stocking up and decided to give it a go. I've always liked the look of bunting and even considered getting some made but when I found this, it seemed only right that
1) I should make it myself and
2) With me being in the paper craft industry, it should be made of paper
The difficulty was deciding what paper to use!

It amazed me that 6 months ago, I half a table to display my good and this time around, I managed to fill the entire table! I though I would have some space to spare so that I could work on some crafts but it was not to be. I remembered to bring my portfolio of cards with me as well this time and had my shiny new business cards on display (full colour ones this time!)

Mid day came and the doors opened. For a while it seemed quiet and it was quite slow and I managed to make my friend's birthday card and another paper pieced picture but things started to pick up later on in the day.

A couple of friends came to see the fair and I think I sold more to them than anyone else but a sale is a sale!

Overall, it was a really good day and although not as successful as my first fair, definitely better than the other since then. I also picked up exactly where I need to improve - each fair is a learning experience and I am looking forward to the next on to work on my social skills. Speaking of learning, it was really interesting to look back at my first fair and see how far I have come. From not having a clue and my brother doing most (all!) of the talking to standing on my own and doing it by myself (although I could really benefit from his charisma!) 

Then

Now

Back in Business!

After not crafting for what seems to be a very long time, I finally got back at my craft mat and made some cards. Now that I think about it, before this week, I hadn't made any cards since before Easter - so essentially a month! Really not good!

Anyway, as I was saying, I had some cards to make this week and I because it's been so long, I think I am a little bit excitable about them this morning*. Unfortunately, I can only share one of them at the moment as the other is a commission which hasn't been sent yet so that one is coming later!

This card was inspired by the new Iron Man film that came out earlier this week. I went to see it for a friend's birthday so it only seemed appropriate that his birthday card had the same theme to it.

I used the same kind of technique that I used for my Iron Man paper pieced picture back in November - coloured card with lots of pen detail. This time however, I got my trusty white pencil out as well to add some extra details. As it was a card and not a picture, I didn't make it as 3D as last time but it made my life a lot easier! I did however make the hand more pronounced by using foam pads (I can normally never get the foreshortening right!)


Looking back at the first Iron Man I did, it's kind of interesting to see how it has evolved - I know that it entirely due to the images I based them on, but it's still in keeping with the films. I think the 'newer model' definitely an improvement and I think I will be looking into make the other Avengers in this style very soon.






*well, morning when I wrote it anyway. See, over excited about new things to publish! I've already spammed my Facebook page with the photos so I thought I should hold off just a little!

Progress

Hello, stranger!

I have barely had time to breathe since coming back to the big city. It feels like I've been back far longer than the eight days it's been. Unfortunately, lack of breathing - apart from not being good for you - means lack of card making. My total count this year is a pathetic 3, although that will be going up to 4 this evening (a friend's birthday). 'Tis not good! I have however been on the prowl for craft fairs and written myself a lil' old business plan. 

But first the craft fairs. All but paid and filled in the form for one 3rd February so if you are in the area, come and have a gander. I also found a few farmers markets which happen on a regular basis so I might try and get onto one of those. Whilst looking though, many of the craft fairs/markets want stall holders to have Public and Product Liability insurance. I have heard of this before but it's not been something that I have properly looked into. Business-wise, Made by Emma is still in it's early days, but I think I will have to start thinking about it soon, if only so that I can get stalls at fairs and markets.

I finally had a bit of a chilled evening earlier in the week, which allowed me to go back over the notes from the self-employment workshop I went too and start on my business plan. It's basically a Word Document which says what I do and, what I think is the interesting bit, my future plans. Sure, it's really just a posh, long term version of my New Year's resolutions but it was good to see it all written down on paper and now I have something that I can refer back too. 

I have three deadlines, so to speak: Within my first year, so goals to achieve by March; A year from now, goals to have achieved by this time next year; and within 3 years, this time in 2016. My - very - short term targets are to get at least two more craft fairs (getting sorted) and to get some proper business cards printed - not just the black and white paper ones I have at the moment.

Anyhow, must dash, I have a birthday card to make before I head out to celebrate said friend's birthday.

Toodle Pip!

The Card Maker's Birthday

Yes, that's right. Today I enter my third decade (feel old not being a teen any more) . But, I have now booked my craft fair so all that is left to do is to make sure I have plenty of stock ready but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. I did a recent count and I have about 150 cards just lying around although, I haven't done much crafting since I last posted. With this one exception . . . 

Yesterday saw my room mate's birthday and as I am still experimenting with my paper-pieced pictures, I decided to make one for her. 

If you can't tell by the photo, she is a BIG fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas, with Jack Skellington being her Halloween costume this year as well. I used the same sized frame as my Doctor Who one but was able to get it in black (which looks so much better!). I got a bit carried away with my rough sketch and ended up shading it properly but it gave me a template to work with.

To make his pinstriped suit, I used black card and drew the stripes on with a sharp white pencil. I sketched on his mouth and skeletal hand details with black pen but to add a bit of depth, I cut the eyes and nose out and glued some black card behind them. I did a similar thing with his bat bowtie although next time I make him, I don't think I will make it stand out so much as it did get a little bit damaged in transit.

I couldn't give her a present without a card so I made one to match. Originally, I was going to do a similar design on an orange card blank but I couldn't resist the black and purple combo. I am really pleased with the card and as a finishing touch, I had to add a Tim Burton-esque flourish on the envelope.

Welcome back to Manchester!

I am now unpacked and back in my digs in Manchester. This summer has flown by! Whilst packing, I desperately tried to reduce the amount of craft stash to bring but it just couldn't be done. I still ended up with my caddy, several boxes and folders of stuff. *Sighs. 

However, on arrival, when I went to collect my keys, I was greeted with a parcel. Something that had been sent to me over the summer. Completely confused as to what it was, I left it until I had everything in my room before opening it. An unusual surprise turned into a very pleasant one when I opened the large envelope and found more craft stash!

It was only when I opened it that I realise it was from a prize draw I had entered in my magazine.  The goodies included GB themed papers, stickers, banners, chipboard pieces and some sequiny, really glitzy stickers all from Vintedge. Just imagine if I had won something bigger!
And the moral of that story is, you gotta be in it to win it. And it would be a better idea to send things to your home address, not university digs!

Before I left home, I had time to make a couple more cards, one as a commission and the other for a friend who was leaving for his first year at uni.
The first card had quite a specific requirement, albeit an unusual one (but I expected no less from my friend and next door neighbour). The card was for her sister's 21st birthday. She likes sheep.

I chose to make it a shaped card, and based my design on clip-art images of sheep. I loved the round body, creating a very cartoon sheep, and also making it easy to cut out but I felt it needed something a bit more than just white card. This was a sheep for goodness sake! And then it hit me . . . .

FLOCKING

No pun intended! I'm talking about the fluffy powder version of glitter. Simply cover the surface in something sticky and sprinkle. 
Like all the cards I make for landmark birthdays, I hand-wrote '21' onto the pink balloon and attached this to the sheep using white thread - it was already attached to the card at the fold. It's face and paws were simply black card with paper pieced detail. 

As well as creating it to my friend's specifications, I also added one of my own in order to fit into this weeks CAS-ual Friday challenge - Black and white plus one.

I learnt a bit from doing this card. I guess they were things that I should have known about before but never really thought about.
The first one is shaped cards: make sure it is a single shape, otherwise the card won't open fully. I should have made sure that the balloon was connected to the sheep in more ways than just the thread.
The second one is about flocking. Sticky pads DO NOT stick to flocking. Or rather, the flocking sticks to the pads alright but the the flocking comes of the card. I found this out the hard way and so had to scrape off some of the flocking from the sheep and get new pads to stick his face down. I was more careful with the feet and made sure it was attached to the paper, not the flocking. 


















My second card, as I said was for a friend leaving for university. This card needs little explanation. Students. Drink. Simple. So I covered the front of my blue card blank with grey circles decorated to look like cans. I didn't want any sort of order to them and to add to this effect, I raised some on sticky pads. I finished it off with an acetate label finished with a hand written sentiment and blue ribbon. I'm really please with the sketchy look of the cans and may do this one again for a birthday.

CAS-ual Fridays

CAS-ual Fridays

I realise that this post is well overdue. Especially seeing as this weeks CAS-ual Friday deadline is this evening. Oops. However, I did make my card on time. I got back from the Lake District last Friday and made my card that afternoon. However, after receiving my new project brief - with three weeks still left before I go back to university! - I was feeling very un-motivated to do any thing and nearly considered not entering at all this week.

But here it is.

So, the theme this week was Banners and Flags and as I had a friend's birthday also last Friday, I made this card with her in mind. I used a Me To You embellishment from a set I had lying around and added some matching coloured bunting made with card and ribbon. I finished it off with a swirly birthday message.

I have a surprise announcement coming up soon so keep reading. Very exciting! 

CAS-ual Fridays

CAS-ual Fridays

I am slightly amazed that I have managed to find the time to make this card today. In a matter of hours, I am off to the Lake District for a week with my family (Really, really, really hoping the weather turns out nice as we are hiking most of the week). 

So, the theme for this week's challenge is the Sea and things seen in or by it. I have done a few sea-themed cards recently: I entered another challenge a few weeks back and of course, there is the sailing card for the Olympics. 
I made this one a really quick card by using a pre-made embellishment as the central focus of the design. These dolphins were given to me by my German room-mate last year whose family owned a craft shop. I finished the card with some blue fabricy-paper stuff and some paper ribbon. A Happy Birthday tag was added to the bottom and as an after thought, I had an experiment with some glitter glue that my sister found by creating a wave pattern up the length of the ribbon.

CAS-ual Fridays

CAS-ual Fridays

Another quick post for this week's CAS-ual Friday challenge. I promise to do a proper proper entry next time, I will have a hell of a lot to talk about - it's the charity gig tonight and hopefully there will  be lots of cards being sold (Excited much?)


So, this week's challenge was to use text in our design. I decided to multi task for this one and make my design easy to replicate so that I could make more to sell tonight. I based my design on one that I had seen in my magazine but added my own character to really make it mine.

This one is probably my favourite (mainly due to the purple) but I created three others. I tried to make each one slightly different. Obviously, the character is the same but I made each one unique with different hair and eye colour (ProMarkers) and dresses, colour schemes and accessories (made with patterned paper, peel-offs and embellishments). The text part of my design is at the base of my card where I used strips of newspaper (unfortunately it was the sports pages, and mainly golf - I hope no one notices!). I then finished off each card with various bits and pieces. I hope you like :)

Busy Weekend

This weekend saw me making plenty of cards for various occasions, including my first proper order - my brother was talking about my cards to one of his friends who needed one for her mum's birthday later this week. The theme for this card was The Cat in the Hat.
I began by looking at the character on-line and sketching out some ideas. I decided to make (yet another) silhouette card but highlight his famous hat and bow-tie.
To make it, I drew out my cat onto black card and finished it off by adding a red and white paper hat (and tie) with pen detail. 
I finished the card with silver stars and a happy birthday foam sticker.

After I had shown it to mum, she wanted one for her boss' birthday, her boss who happens to like cats. This one was more or less the same, with small changes in the details.





My third card of the weekend was a new baby card for our brand new family member (a distant relation). This one required a bit of inspiration. I finally came across the perfect template.

I used some pink and cream spotted paper for the rabbit, finishing it off with a little pink ribbon and pen features. The card itself was decorated with a strip of cream ribbon and some pink gingham tape with a 'congratulations' foam sticker (there is a lack of 'new baby' or 'baby girl/boy' stickers in my stash).


My other creation was for a family friend who was starting a new job. This was a new theme for me, having never made a 'good luck on your new job' card before. So I hit my magazines once more. Unfortunately, they were limited and all included stationary or shirts and ties which wasn't what I was looking for. I did have one idea though and that was shoes. My friend, Jan, absolutely adores shoes, so I decided to make them the focus of the design.
Again, I chose to do a silhouette card but used brightly coloured paper from the Retro Rose range for the shoes and detail on the card. I am so happy with the design and love the colours. I think it definitely ranks up there with my favourite makes. I used Word to help me write the message, but typing it out, finding the right font and copying it onto the card. I didn't just want to write good luck but I was able to come up with this sentiment, which I thought matched my card perfectly.